Not Time for Clemson Yet

ATHENS - The countdown to college football's kickoff has already begun in Athens, but it's not time to think about Clemson yet.

Todd Grantham has been around this game long enough to know you don't spend your entire Fall Camp focusing on a single opponent.

"We'll focus on Clemson when it comes time for Clemson," Grantham said.

Grantham and his defense are focused on the basics right now. It's only five days into Fall Camp and the two-a-days haven't even started yet. Clemson is just one of many items on Grantham's mind right now.

"We've got a long season to play," Grantham said. "We've got to install game plans for the long haul. That may even require new game plans each week."

As far as that long haul's concerned, Grantham and a few of the other units have some fresh legs to depend on with the newcomers. Some coaches say they can't even remember all the names of the kids; they just know they look good. Grantham, however, rattled off a long list of names without hesitation.

Jenkins is a guy who's taking on a lot more responsibility this season after the departure of former draft pick Jarvis Jones. Jenkins has heard this plenty of times this offseason and Grantham said he'll just take on the role one simple step at a time.

"We just want to see him [Jenkins] develop," Grantham said. "He just has to affect the quarterback. It doesn't even have to be a sack, just as long as he puts enough pressure on the quarterback."

Mike Bobo, a guy who wants little pressure on his quarterback, said the offensive line has held up well through the first few days of fall camp. There have even been a few opportunities for new guys to step up on the line, which leads Bobo to urge the older guys that they can't get too comfortable in their positions.

"That five can't be complacent," Bobo said. "They must work hard to play."

Last year's offensive line was good, though. So why wouldn't they be given a guaranteed starting role for 2013? Bobo offered a rather humorous, yet truthful response to that question.

"Number three made that offensive line look good," Bobo said with a smile.

He's obviously referring to sophomore back Todd Gurley, who rushed for 17 touchdowns and 1385 yards on 222 carries in his freshman season. Blockers tend to get a little more comfortable when a guy like that is running behind them. Nonetheless, Bobo is confident in the work the offensive line has put in to get better.

"Coach [Will] Friend is making it hard for them and they're responding," Bobo said.

Bobo also bragged on junior offensive guard Watts Dantzler, saying he is making his way up the depth chart this fall.

"Watts wants to be in that rotation and he's working hard to get there," Bobo said.

With Dantzler working hard, fans are still left to wonder where Kolton Houston stands on that depth chart after being granted eligibility for the upcoming season. Friend is optimistic, but says it's still hard to get a grasp on where Houston measures up in comparison to his fellow linemen.

"It's still early for Kolton," Friend said. "We'll see how he does, but we've seen some good things."

There's still some hope for playing time for Houston, though, seeing as Friend plans to do a lot of work on his line during the next few weeks.

"We're a long way from where we want to be," Friend said.

That seems to be the feeling for all Georgia's units at this point, but all these coaches have been in Fall Camp before.